John Lewis saw its sales surge by 11% year-on-year last week as a combination of a damp Bank Holiday Monday, cool weather through the week, and a shift in the fall of the calendar for Back to School all helped drive trade.

GENERAL MERCHANDISE

John Lewis sales up 11% last week

11 September 2015 | by The Retail Bulletin

John Lewis saw its sales surge by 11% year-on-year last week as a combination of a damp Bank Holiday Monday, cool weather through the week, and a shift in the fall of the calendar for Back to School all helped drive trade.

Online sales were up 19.3% while 36 stores achieved sales increases on the same week last year.

The Ipswich store delivered the biggest percentage increase at 37.3%, followed by Cardiff and Tamworth where sales rose by 32.9% and 30.6% respectively.

The dip in temperature boosted performance across the fashion category where sales climbed by 16.9% overall. Within that, standout performances were seen in outerwear, knitwear, and shoes and boots. In addition, childrenswear enjoyed the traditional last minute surge in Back to School buying as sales rose by 18%.

Home sales increased by 10.2% with gifting and pick-up product driving performance within the category.

Meanwhile, electrical and home technology sales rose by 6.8%, boosted by customers buying new TVs as they geared up for the Rugby World Cup.

Barry Matheson, director of retail services at John Lewis, said: “As new product floods into our shops and online the focus is on exploiting that newness and innovation in our assortments. September will be a barometer of how customers are feeling, giving us an early indication of the strength of seasonal trade ahead and I have every confidence that we will not be disappointed.”

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